November
20, 2005 - Gun
is like a combination of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven,
HBO's Deadwood and Rockstar's GTA. It's an open-ended,
gritty Western filled with action, violence, side
quests and a degree of realism that doesn't necessarily
glorify the Old West or turn it into a cliché
fest.

But
the big question on your mind is probably "If
I've played the game already is there anything here
worthy of playing the next gen version? There's no
reason to spend the extra money on this 360 version
as it's too similar to the other next-gen console
titles. If you've been saving this one for your new
console purchase, there isn't anything else like it
on the X360 and it's definitely a worthy action title
to add to your collection.

Colton
White, as a youngster, was aboard a steamship with
his adopted father when it was sabotaged. But before
the ship exploded, old Ned threw Colton overboard
and left him with a medallion inscribed with the name
of a saloon in Montana. Ned lost his life and Colton
vowed to put the pieces together of his father's death
which he is determined is not an accident. Colton
first makes his way to Dodge City where his adventure
begins. It will take him throughout the Old West from
Kansas to Montana where he will face a variety of
outlaws, Indians and lawmen.

"Colton
rarely gets to stay in one place too long before
he's off on another adventure."

The
cutscenes hurry the story along and don't simply mosey.
Situations are moved along at a cattle drive's pace.
Colton rarely gets to stay in one place too long before
he's off on another adventure. The developers could
have expanded on some of these situations such as
when he becomes a sheriff in Empire City. There are
lots of scenarios that could have been culled from
this development but it's not given time to bloom.
Instead we're rushed off to the next mission; and
you can't help but feel a little jipped.

While
travelling from town to town, Colton never settles
down and the characters that he meets very quickly
become memories. Save for the greedy and evil ex-railroad
tycoon and his henchmen. A variety of gameplay elements
keeps things interesting but at times they seem forced
and disrupt the pace. There are puzzles to solve,
elements of stealth, strategy, horseback riding and
of course shooting. All of these elements are very
basic and easy to perform although the horse can be
a pain in the ass when shooting. Although there is
a pervading mystery to the storyline that needs to
be solved these elements don't relate so much to the
unraveling of the mystery as they act more like gates
that you must open to get closer to the truth. Although
it's not linear the game directs you to specific areas
instead of making it feel as though you discovered
these leads of your own volition. Overall there is
a lack of cohesion to many of the gameplay elements.